US-backed forces of the Somalia Transitional Federal Government and AMISOM enter the town of Wanlaweyn. The Horn of Africa nation is being occupied by imperialism utilizing proxy forces from the region., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Somali journalist killed by attackers, others beaten
By Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar, Reuters
MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Somali journalist died in the hospital on Saturday after being attacked by gunmen on Tuesday, his colleague told the Associated Press Sunday, bringing the number of reporters killed in Somalia this year to seven.
Mohamed Mohamud, nicknamed "Tima'ade," was shot more than five times, by unidentified gunmen on his way to work, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). He worked for the privately owned Universal TV.
“We must bring to justice those responsible for the attempted assassination of Tima'ade,” Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud said in a statement before Mohamud died, according to CPJ. The president urged Somali reporters “to keep up their courageous activity to show these thugs and would-be killers that they cannot silence journalists who are doing a magnificent job in Somalia.”
"The government always said it would arrest the murderers but has done nothing to curb assassinations. This time we will not be quiet. It has to prove it is concerned," Abdullahi Hirsi Kulmiye, East Africa bureau chief for Universal TV told Reuters.
Somalia is a fragmented state where the federal government has limited control beyond the boundaries of Mogadishu.
Islamist al-Shabaab militants, who control swathes of countryside, still carry out bombings and shootings in the capital.
Journalists have been among the victims since Somalia descended into war in the early 1990s, with last year being the deadliest on record for journalists in the country, with 18 killed, according to The National Union of Somali Journalists.
In a separate incident, Somali security agents stormed and shut down two radio stations, beat and detained reporters, and impounded their equipment on Saturday, the union said.
NUSOJ said the raid was connected to stories Radio Shabelle and SkyFM, both part of the Shabelle Media Network, had aired touching on accusations of corruption within government.
Police said they were carrying out an eviction order after the network failed to vacate the government-owned building. Both stations were housed in the same building, which also served as a residence for the journalists.
"They did not follow the order to abandon the government building. The government had told them to leave the building in which the radio operated because it was not theirs," Colonel Abdikadir Mohamed, a senior police officer told Reuters.
"Radio Shabelle was on air during the attack and the public could hear the beatings and noise inside the studio until the police violently disabled computer servers and radio transmission equipment before shutting down the generators, effectively halting broadcasting indefinitely," NUSOJ said.
The union said police arrested 36 journalists and detained them for several hours, adding police sources had told it that officers were working on bringing criminal charges against eight reporters and the chairman of Shabelle Media Network.
Mogadishu's security has been improving in recent months but many parts of the city remain no-go areas for aid workers and journalists. All media companies and radio stations are congested around the well-secured K4 and airport areas.
"The raiding of Radio Shabelle and SkyFM and the arbitrary switch-off of two radio stations clearly indicates an orchestrated invasion on free media and drastically injures the rights to freedom of expression, media and access to information," the union said.
SOMALIA: Special Representative of the UNSG Regrets Killing of a Journalist in Mogadishu
(RBC) The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) for Somalia, Nicholas Kay, has learnt with deep sorrow of the death of Mohamed Mohamud Tima’adde, a reporter with Universal TV, on the evening of 26 October.
Mohamed succumbed to injuries he sustained on 22 October, when he was ambushed and shot several times in Mogadishu’s Wadajir district by unknown assailants who managed to escape.
He becomes the seventh journalist to be murdered in 2013; Somalia continues to be one of the most dangerous places to practice journalism in the world.
SRSG Kay noted that the media had a crucial role to play in fostering peace and stability in Somalia, and stressed the need to protect journalists and press freedom in the country.
“My heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Mohamed Mohamud Tima’adde, and to all media practitioners in Somalia,” SRSG Kay said. “UNSOM continues to work with the Federal Government of Somalia to strengthen the security and justice sectors in order to ensure that the streets of Somalia are safer and violent criminals are brought to justice.”
RBC Radio
Somalia radio stations shut down, ordered out of government building
2:37pm EDT
By Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali security agents shut down two radio stations and ordered its reporters to leave a building they were occupying for non-payment of rent, a government official said on Sunday.
The official said the Shabelle Media Network's stations had been given a deadline to leave the government-owned building, which they had initially refused.
"The issue is nothing to do with media freedom. But they were asked to leave government property that they had been in," the Somali government official told Reuters.
The official said they eventually left and that no violence was involved.
An overseas-based official from the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) earlier said the stations, Radio Shabelle and SkyFM, were closed in connection with stories touching on accusations of corruption within government.
His statement said the reporters were beaten and detained for several hours.
However another official, Mohamed Ibrahim, based in Mogadishu and representing another arm of the splintered union, said the action had nothing to do with stories the stations had aired. He said the reporters were neither beaten nor detained.
It was unclear how the different accounts of the police action were obtained. The two groups representing NUSOJ run rival websites.
Police said they were carrying out the eviction order after the network failed to vacate the building. Both stations were housed in the same building, which also served as a residence for the journalists.
Journalists have been among the victims since Somalia descended into war in the early 1990s, with last year being the deadliest on record for journalists in the country, with 18 killed, according to NUSOJ.
Mogadishu's security has been improving but many parts of the city remain no go areas for aid workers and journalists. All media companies and radio stations are based around the well-secured K4 and airport areas.
Somalia is a fragmented state where the federal government has limited control beyond the boundaries of Mogadishu.
Islamist al Shabaab militants, who control swathes of countryside, still carry out bombings and shootings in the capital.
In a separate incident, Mohamed Mohamud, a journalist who was shot six times by gunmen on Tuesday, died on Saturday, bringing the number of reporters killed in Somalia this year to seven. He worked for the privately owned Universal TV.
"The government always said it would arrest the murderers but has done nothing to curb assassinations. This time we will not be quiet. It has to prove it is concerned," Abdullahi Hirsi Kulmiye, East Africa bureau chief for Universal TV told Reuters.
(Editing by Alison Williams)
Sunday, October 27th, 2013 at 07:46 pm
SOMALIA: Information minister sets deadline for the registration of media and telecommunication companies
Mogadishu (RBC)
The Information, Posts and Telecommunication Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia Abdullahi Hersi Elmoge announced today a deadline for the media and telecommunication companies in Somalia to register with the coming two weeks, RBC Radio reports.
“Starting from today on 27 October 2013, the Ministry of Information, Posts and
Telecommunication orders all the Somali media and telecom owners to register or renew their licenses.” a decree signed by minister Elmoge said.
“All the media include radio, TV and print and telecom firms include telephone networks and internet service providers.” the decree added.
According to the two pages decree, the security forces will take action against any unlicensed media and telecom operator after the set date which to expire on November 10th.
“By November 10th, any media outlet or company which has not a legal license shall face a legal step against its illegal business.” the decree added.
The order came as the ministry of information introduced new media bill which has been in circulation recently for a wider public consultation within the regions of the country.
RBC Radio
Combating Corruption in Somalia
By the Editors - Oct 27, 2013
In the wake of the barbarous attack on Kenya’s Westgate shopping mall last month, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wants decisive action against the group responsible for at least 67 deaths, the Somalia-based al-Shabaab.
He proposes adding 4,000 African Union troops to the 18,000 already in Somalia and providing the forces with attack helicopters and other advanced equipment so they can pursue al-Shabaab in its sanctuaries in the rural south.
The idea sounds reasonable. In addition to attacking Kenya, al-Shabaab struck Uganda in 2010, killing more than 70 people, and this year it has repeatedly assaulted Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. The group controls parts of southern Somalia, including the port of Baraawe, from which U.S. commandos retreated under fire earlier this month, having failed to capture an al-Shabaab commander.
Before the UN expands the role of the AU troops, however, it should first work to clean up the mission. One of its components, the 4,600-strong Kenyan contingent, has been a force for ill as much as good in the effort to stabilize Somalia; its corruption is even helping to enrich al-Shabaab.
The Kenyan troops have been instrumental in ejecting al-Shabaab from its urban strongholds, notably the city of Kismayo in September 2012. The port had been key to al-Shabaab’s $25 million a year in earnings from the export of charcoal made from acacia trees. The razing of trees for this trade has turned lush areas of Somalia into deserts, which contributed to a famine in 2010 and 2011 that killed 260,000 people, according to the UN’s estimate. In 2012, the UN Security Council banned the import and export of Somali charcoal.
One might have expected the Kenyans, once in control of Kismayo, to enforce the export ban. Instead, they collaborated with the Ras Kamboni militia led by a former al-Shabaab ally to increase violations. By July 2013, Somalia’s charcoal exports had risen 140 percent.
The trade at Kismayo is divided between Kenyan business interests, Ras Kamboni and, astonishingly, al-Shabaab. People connected to the group control a third of the exports, and al-Shabaab continues to tax trucks heading to Kismayo. With the income from exports from Baraawe, the charcoal trade is earning al-Shabaab more than ever, the UN estimates.
So before pushing to expand the AU force -- which the UN supports logistically -- Ban should first require that the Kenyan contingent respect the charcoal sanctions. The U.S., which has provided training and other assistance for the Kenyans, and the European Union, which pays their allowances, should second the demand.
Ending the Kenyans’ corruption is essential to repairing the AU mission’s credibility, as well as the UN’s. Cutting off al-Shabaab’s charcoal profits would also make the group more vulnerable to Ban’s proposed assault on its remaining refuges.
To contact the Bloomberg View editorial board: view@bloomberg.net.
Sabahi (Washington, DC)
Somalia: Al-Shabaab Menace Lingers Along Mogadishu's Edge
BY ABDI MOALIM, 25 OCTOBER 2013
Mogadishu — Mariam Osman used to have a gold business in Elasha Biyaha until May 2012 when she closed shop and fled as al-Shabaab fighters and Somali government forces battled to gain control of the area.
Even though the government and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces were able to eliminate al-Shabaab from Elasha Biyaha that same month, more than a year later, many residents say they have not been able to return because insecurity persists.
Osman, 50, who asked to use a pseudonym out of fear of al-Shabaab retribution, now lives in Mogadishu's Hodan district, but says the situation is too unstable to reopen her business.
"We cannot trust our lives with going there for business because fighting could break out at any time, as al-Shabaab is not far from there and can carry out operations there at any time," she told Sabahi.
Elasha Biyaha is just northwest of Mogadishu in Lower Shabelle's Lafoole district.
"Among the problems facing that region are ambush attacks by al-Shabaab and al-Shabaab militia hiding among the residents," Osman said.
A recent such attack occurred October 14th when al-Shabaab fighters battled government and allied forces for several hours.
"A group of about 20 al-Shabaab operatives attacked us from Jazeera," Lafoole District Commissioner Ibrahim Gedi told Sabahi. "We were able to defend ourselves and did not suffer any damage, but we do not know if they did."
Gedi said his district was still vulnerable to terrorist attacks, and that the federal government had yet to send in police reinforcements to bolster security around Lafoole.
In the meantime, al-Shabaab operatives have been able to hide out among the local population, he said.
"There are only military troops here, and they are not capable of going among the people and weeding out al-Shabaab because that is not their job," Gedi said. "The military function like the police here. And that is not a solution, so the government has to bring police here."
Continuing threat in Benadir
Residents of Yaqshid, Hiliwa and Daynile -- three districts in Benadir region that were also freed from al-Shabaab control last year -- have expressed similar fears about their sense of safety from the lingering militant threat.
"Security and police forces do not operate here and have no station [in the district] where they can be contacted," said 43-year-old Daynile resident Farhiya Abdi. "We need a police force to be brought to the area so they can ensure security."
Even though the area was liberated from al-Shabaab, it still lacks the kind of stability that people enjoy in other parts of Benadir under government control, said Hussein Ga'al, a 25-year-old Daynile resident.
"People in the government, such as representatives, do not live here because they are concerned about their safety," he told Sabahi.
In the past two months, government troops began moving out of some of the bases they had captured from al-Shabaab last year, leaving residents vulnerable to the terrorists again, said 26-year-old Yaqshid resident Fadumo Hirsi.
Al-Shabaab's presence has grown in the Gupta neighbourhood of Yaqshid to the point where militants openly execute people, according residents.
"We see al-Shabaab conducting operations here. They kill people here and do whatever they want," Sheikh Abdullahi, 66, told Sabahi.
"Two months ago they came to the shop of a young man and ordered him to close his shop and come outside. They then killed him in a clearing outside his shop, and no one came to his aid."
Intelligence forces on alert
Benadir regional administration spokesman Mohamed Yusuf Osman told Sabahi they have deployed plain-clothes intelligence forces to the districts to secure the area instead of having military soldiers carrying guns among the people.
He said there are enough intelligence forces in the neighbourhoods to ensure security.
"People do not know [there are] intelligence forces [in their neighbourhoods] because they secure the peace in secret, but we have not abandoned them," Osman said. "The intelligence forces live in neighbourhoods like civilians. They have shops and [work undercover] in order to ensure security, and that is the peacekeeping plan that we use to secure those areas."
Osman said they have relocated the military forces to bases outside of residential areas after complaints from residents who said they were troubled by having soldiers living in their midst.
"We have moved the troops to separate bases so that they are not roaming around in the neighbourhoods since the public has made that request," he said.
There are neighbourhood gangs that pretend to be part of al-Shabaab to scare off citizens, Osman said. Police have arrested some of them, but have not charged them with major crimes.
"We educate them and rehabilitate them since we have not found them guilty of a major crime," he said.
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